See No Desire, Hear No Desire
by auralink
Summary: There's no Metaverse here, instead desires must literally be consumed from the corrupted person and targets are now literally prey. Without the Phantom Thieves as we know it, Akechi ends up being the one to investigate the Madarame case and forms an alliance with Yusuke as their hunger only grows stronger.
1. Chapter 1

Being in one of Madarame's exhibitions was always a performance. A performance of ignorance, or putting a pleasant demeanor on the entire time as patrons made their usual remarks about the vast variety of artistic styles, or attempting to ignore the complaints of the guests who are obviously only there because someone else had dragged them there and lacked the eye to marvel at even the best works in the exhibition beyond a glance. It's something that Yusuke had gotten used to over the years. He had to learn to put on that mask faster than most of the other younger pupils, since he was always so tall that everyone had assumed he was at least two years older than he really was. An old couple even complimented him on his bold decision to be Madarame's apprentice instead of studying in college, when he still had a couple years of high school left. He takes being seen as older as more positive than anything else, reinforcement that he was behaving correctly in the exhibition.

The younger visitors always stand out more in these settings (something which Yusuke personally did not understand) so it was only natural that a young man around his age struck his eye. Brown hair that shined with almost unnatural health, a trenchcoat that looked a tad bit too large for his figure which contrasted with well-fitted pants that hint at an athletic build. He walked closer to the painting that this young man was examining, the mere fact that the other seemed to actually be taking the art in unlike many of the visitors who seem to make a promenade around the exhibit made this person a subject of interest already. He didn't wear bright colors like most older, cultured visitors tended to do. As Yusuke came closer, the other turned around. The young man's eyes widened a little and he took a step back, as if the painting was Yusuke's actual target.

"Ah, you must be Madarame's pupil. Yusuke Kitagawa, correct?" the young man said with a very soft-toned voice, almost too pleasant in timbre, "I was hoping I might encounter you here, but these paintings ended up stealing my attention."

Yusuke couldn't help but to be a little taken aback, "You were looking… for me?" That was uncommon, to say the least.

"Yes, my curiosity was piqued when I heard that Madarame would house a select number of pupils in his home, and that one in particular might as well had been born and raised there." The other smiled, "Ah, where are my manners? I should at least introduce myself, my name is Goro Akechi."

Goro Akechi. Akechi, Akechi. Yusuke had the feeling that he had heard that name somewhere, probably through the conversations of other students while he was painting in the studio. The others tended to chat while working on their pieces, but Yusuke was absolutely silent aside from the occasional hum or sigh of disappointment. But when he tried to think of the context, he drew a blank.

"Nice to meet you, Akechi. It's a pleasant surprise to see someone who wishes to see me at my teacher's exhibition."

"Ah, there's already so much about Madarame's works and his life available online," Akechi shrugged it off, "But I was interested in learning what kind of life a pupil of a famous artist must live. You must dedicate most of your hours on art considering you are living in Madarame's place for that explicit reason."

"Yes, you could easily sum up my daily life with that, though I would not want anything else."

"Really now? Does Madarame leave you to your own devices for the most part? I presume he checks on you and your progress at least somewhat frequently."

"Indeed, he always makes sure that I have a… decent rate of output." Yusuke should not have answered Akechi that way, for he saw a glimmer in the other's eyes after the slightest of hesitation and it was clear that curiosity was not the only thing that had driven Akechi here. He was about to elaborate, to fix the mistake, but-

"So Madarame cares for quantity, does he? Despite that consideration, I'm afraid I haven't seen anything about your works being on display, or any of the other pupils to be precise," Akechi feigned a slightly confused look, "One would think that Madarame would want to showcase his pupils' works to help expose them to the art world, not to mention prove the merit of his mentorship."

"There's still much that we all have to learn." Yusuke tried to hold back a frown. It didn't work.

"We? I've heard that quite a few pupils had fallen out recently. In fact, I'm not sure if I've heard to any others who are currently under Madarame's tutelage."

"...Committing every moment of the day to art can be difficult. Even I have had my fair share of struggles at times, but it was all for the sake of improving our abilities, I assure you." Yusuke hoped that the other would drop his point quickly, but something in him knew that there was no way that would end this easily.

"Oh I never made a claim otherwise." Akechi grinned. It was the grin of the upper hand, "But it would make sense for an artist who takes his work so seriously like Madarame would be equally serious when it comes to making sure his pupils can create presentable work. Such seriousness can easily become stressful for others."

"Are you trying to insinuate something?" Yusuke's eye twitched.

"Why of course not," Akechi's voice had stayed in that same soft tone the entire time, which was becoming more unnerving than anything, "I can only guess why you would think I had such intentions, however." Yusuke noticed the other's eyes glance at something behind him for a moment. Akechi smiled, "You don't look too inclined to share though. That's fine, I know when it's best not to pry anymore. It was nice meeting you, Kitagawa."

The way Akechi promptly left was suspicious, but Yusuke couldn't say he wasn't happy that the nosy young man quickly took his leave before he really started getting infuriating rather than just irritating.

"Was that a classmate of yours?" Yusuke turned around at the familiar voice.

"No, sensei, just another visitor that happened to be curious." An understatement, to say the least.

"...Ah I see. It's always good to see more youth around fine art. It's a sign that there are some in that generation that have some culture." Yusuke nodded, but it came off feeling rather stiff. Despite being able to put on a decent face in these public events, Yusuke could never quite get used to the way that Madarame talked here compared to how he tended to behave back in the atelier, especially in the mornings when he would often check up on Yusuke's work.

"Look, one of my most recent patrons has arrived," Madarame gestured to an older lady decked almost entirely in a forest green, sans teal flats that clashed with the otherwise passable outfit, "Come Yusuke, it's only polite to introduce yourself to her."

"Of course, Sensei."

* * *

The final day of the exhibition had passed and Yusuke finally felt like he could focus his energy back onto his art. Madarame took no time in reminding him that the elder was expecting good work from him, as per usual. The fact that there were no other pupils anymore made the quota rise, however, which added the pressure of working faster while maintaining quality. Yusuke tried to take it as a personal challenge, but the frequency of all-nighters were only increasing and he could barely focus on schoolwork now. Not that his academic scores really mattered, his performance in art was the only thing required to keep his scholarship, and he had no concern over that. His teachers were quite used to his fluctuating scores anyway, aware that school was essentially something on the side for Yusuke, unlike most other Japanese students.

He had just finished his glass of water and sat down, intent on at least painting the background before Madarame returned, when he heard the bell ring. He froze for a moment. Did Madarame forget his keys again? Still, it didn't make sense for him to return so soon already, there was supposed to be an interview today and it had barely been twenty minutes.

The bell rang again. No, it had to be someone else, Madarame never rings a second time so quickly, and often resorts to knocking instead since the doorbell tended to have issues at unexpected moments. But who could it be? He certainly did not expect anyone, and Madarame never mentioned a new pupil or anything of that sort.

A third ring. Yusuke supposed that was his cue. He briskly went downstairs and opened the door before a possible fourth ring, only to be disappointed by what he saw.

"What brings you here?" Yusuke kept the door barely open, enough to keep most of his face visible.

"What a pleasure to meet you again so soon," Akechi smiled. It was the smile of a celebrity, "Though I'm afraid we won't be able to have a nice chat this time. A shame, I would have liked to get to know you better."

"What do you mean?" Yusuke's eyebrows furrowed with suspicion.

"I mean this," Akechi timed himself perfectly so that the warrant notice was produced right on time with the last word. It seemed that he was practiced at this, "The police had gotten evidence of possible abuse. Naturally, I've come here to investigate."

Yusuke's grip on the door tightened. He's here to investigate? Nonsense, there's no way a high school student would be doing anything like this. But to think that Akechi would produce a fake warrant notice, "Ridiculous. If this is an excuse to talk to either Sensei or me, I'm afraid that Sensei's out at the moment and I have an urgent deadline."

Right as the door was about to close, Akechi pulled out his phone, where a video was ready to play, "Look, this footage was given to the police department just the other day." he said and pressed the play button. Yusuke's eyes widened, this was actual footage from inside the atelier, he could tell. One of the former pupils, it must've been Ayami Tanaka, he could tell from the medium length hair and the butterfly pin she always had, was on the floor, learning on the door and sobbing quietly.

" Please let me out… Sensei, please. It's been three days already..." There was a small puddle under her and the hands that clawed at the door were completely dirtied with charcoal and her arms were bruised.

Akechi stopped the video there and put his phone back in his pocket.

"Sorry, but I'll have to stop there. That's not the end of the video, but I would feel bad showing all of this to one of her former classmates without her permission. If you still don't believe me, I can produce a bit more evidence, though I believe you'd be aware of what that would consist of."

Yusuke couldn't believe what he saw. Not so much the actual content of the video (Ayami was a legitimate contender for who had the roughest time during their stay here) but rather how Akechi had gotten footage or any other sort of evidence in the first place. He had heard that there were some rumors spreading about, but from his knowledge, all of them were baseless in that they came from anonymous posts with no hard evidence. But Madarame did have some security cameras around and inside the house, in case of any burglars or particularly bad paparazzi. Had one of them been able to get footage from the cameras without Madarame knowing?

"... So you're actually part of the police?"

Akechi blinked, the first reaction that actually appeared genuine and out of surprise. Akechi then started to laugh, though it was obvious that he was trying to restrain it to an acceptable manner, "I haven't met someone who didn't know who I am for quite a while now. It's quite a pleasant surprise, actually." Yusuke was only more confused, was he supposed to know who Akechi was? He had never paid any mind to celebrities or politics, or most of what comes out the news, actually. Not watching television doesn't help.

"I'm a detective," Akechi continued, "And it is my duty to investigate the situation if anything so unjust seems to have occurred. So I would appreciate it if you'd let me in. There are consequences to not abiding by the search warrant, I hope you are aware."

Yusuke hesitated, but opened the door, not looking at the detective as he waltzed right in.

From the way that Akechi behaved as he made his way around the estate, Yusuke figured that he seemed to act like an actual detective. He wasn't sure what kind of evidence would be found in a search warrant when it came to something like neglect and abuse, but he kept his guard up regardless, desperately hoping that the other wouldn't find anything and make his way out before Madarame returned to complicate matters. He already knew in the back of his mind that his teacher would be upset at him by the time he returns, because there is no way he'll be able to make any decent progress at this point.

Yusuke grew anxious as they went down the upstairs hallway, right towards Madarame's private room. He had no idea what existed inside that locked room, which only made him dread what Akechi might find inside, but considering the situation Yusuke was in right now, he had no real way of stopping the detective from doing his work.

"Hm, seems like this is the only locked door in this place." Akechi's voice rang amused. Yusuke felt his stomach tighten.

"...It's only natural that Sensei would want some possessions under lock and key."

"That goes for everyone, yet he's the only one with the privilege to do so, it seems."

"I don't believe there's a way to get in, I've never even seen the key before," Yusuke tried to think of ways to delay the detective. Madarame would be furious if he caught wind that someone was even near the room, law enforcement or no, "Besides, it's for the more highly-valued artworks. Even if this atelier isn't the most secure, some pieces need to be protected."

"I'm sorry but I'm obligated to look at anything I can to get to the truth of the matter. Have you ever gotten a look at what was inside anyway?" Yusuke didn't respond. He felt like a fool just standing there, feeling his stomach tighten, watching from a short distance as Akechi examined the lock and then took out a lockpick.

"Wh-What do you think you're doing? You can't just lockpick the door!"

"Immoral, I know. But you don't seem to have the key, so I'm left with no choice." As much as he made it sound like he felt obligated to do this, there was an air of artificiality to the way he was speaking.

"You don't sound-... There's really no need to examine these artworks, how could a painting possibly be linked to these ridiculous claims?"

Akechi actually stopped lockpicking for a moment to stare at Yusuke, "Even with actual video footage of neglect where one of your colleagues had no choice but to wet herself, you're in complete denial?"

"I-" Yusuke felt like his words were going to fumble no matter what he does, "I find it impossible that these claims could be connected to an art storage room."

"...Is that so." Akechi messed with the lock some more and finally got it to give in. He turned the doorknob and paused, "There's no need to hide what you're going through, you know."

The sudden considerateness took Yusuke aback, "Excuse me?"

"Usually this would be considered too personal for me to want to intrude but you're doing this because unlike all of the past pupils of Madarame, you literally have nowhere to turn to. You are Madarame's adoptive son, correct?" Yusuke looked downwards in silence.

Akechi continued to talk, not looking at the other boy but at the paint on the door instead, "As a detective… No, as a human being, I think it would be best to admit your caretaker's faults regardless of how much you think you "owe" him. Abuse is always inexcusable, after all." Was that a genuine moment of tenderness or some means of psychologically attempting to coax Yusuke into saying something? There was no way to tell.

He opened the door and reached for the light switch.

In a sense, Yusuke was not wrong. The room only seemed to be filled with row after row of paintings. What made him stop functioning entirely wasn't the presence of artwork, but the subjects of them. Or perhaps, just "subject" would be a more appropriate word, as every single painting appeared to be a mimicry of Sayuri.

"Oh my." Even Akechi had to pause for a moment.

"What… What is this?" Yusuke knew exactly what this was and what this implied, but his thoughts felt like they were simultaneously blocked and diffusing all over the place, bouncing to all different angles.

"Well this certainly doesn't add to the abuse case, but I fear we've seen something also condemnable." Akechi did not waste any more time to start walking around the room, examining and validating that yes, every single painting here appeared to be a fake, "I had heard rumors about this, but did not have any evidence, and I honestly did not expect finding something like this. Certainly changes my plans for the rest of the day." He took out a camera and started taking pictures of the entire scene, including close-ups on some of the fakes.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"I think you know just as much as I do, if not better." Akechi walked down to the corner where there was a conspicuously covered canvas, "I think uncovering this might help us see what exactly is going on."

Another Sayuri.

No, not "another" one, it was the Sayuri. The original that was said to have been stolen all these years ago. What could it possibly be doing here?

Yusuke must've missed the sound of the front door opening, but his ears still picked up on the squeaking of the old wooden stairs. He's here. He's here and they aren't near the door, the door is wide open and they're inside, seeing everything that had been hidden for so many years. He didn't want to look back, to see what Madarame's expression would be once he inevitably comes up here.

"Yusuke! What on earth are you doing in ther-" He heard the old man pause, "... Who is that and what is he doing here, let alone inside the house?"

Akechi looked completely unfazed and took out a badge, "Goro Akechi, sir, I suppose you know that I'm a detective." He then took his badge back in his pocket and produced the sheet of paper again, "I'm here under a search warrant about an abuse case. And yes, I have enough evidence to make this action legitimately. It seems like we've found ourselves a different issue here, though."

"Sensei… Why have you been making all of these replicas of 'Sayuri'?" Yusuke's words felt heavy in his mouth but there was no turning back now, was there, "Especially when you had the original with you?"

"Yusuke, it's not what you think!" Madarame quickly rose to the defensive, "I… I've been afraid to admit it to you but I've actually been dealing with some… financial struggles recently. It's lowly of me, but I've been making replicas of 'Sayuri' to help keep up afloat."

"That's quite bold of you to say, considering that you have an exclusive exhibition on your works in one of Japan's greatest art museums." Akechi stepped closer to the old man, "Then again, it's not exclusively your work, now is it? Perhaps if you shared your profits with all the pupils you plagiarized from, that would lead you to a lack of funds."

Yusuke stared wide-eyed at the detective, who chuckled in response, "Why are you looking at me so surprised like that? Don't take me for a fool, I am a professional detective after all."

"It wasn't plagiarism, I was only helping with suggestions as Sensei is in a bit of a creative block at the moment."

"I may not be an expert in fine art, but I find it quite hard to believe that verbal suggestions can give an artist such a wide variety of styles during a supposed "creative block." And that said "creative block" did not prevent his recent works from suffering in quality. But that's beside the point."

Akechi walked to where Yusuke was and let a gloved hand rest on the artist's shoulder. The stare from those terra-cotta eyes made Yusuke shiver a little, "I know that your instinct might be telling you to defend this man, but you should ask yourself if it's really worth it. Would it really hold up to your sense of justice?"

Before Yusuke could even begin to string together a response, Madarame intervenes, "Sense of justice? What rubbish. All you have been doing right now is making false accusations and trying to get my own pupil to turn against me! I don't care if you're a detective, if you don't drop these baseless claims right now I'm going to have to phone in security."

Akechi's hand dropped from Yusuke's shoulder in order to look at Madarame properly, "I think this room is evidence enough of art fraud. I also have evidence of your atrocious abuse of Ayami Tanaka, who is currently in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt not long after becoming homeless. I doubt it will take me much to find something concrete that points to plagiarism and the like."

"Not just fraud, but abuse and plagiarism too?" Madarame's voice became more enraged, "Yusuke! You let this boy just waltz around the house looking for something to throw me in jail for? Do you really hate your mentor and caretaker that much?"

His gut wanted to react immediately, to appease Madarame and deny any such ill intent. Yet he had no words to say. All of the attention was on him right now: Madarame's glare of anger, betrayal, and expectation blended into a thick, toxic mixture; Akechi's calmer, almost pleasant stare, which made it seem like he already knew exactly how this was going to end and was just waiting for the pieces to move.

"Yusuke!" For a moment, Yusuke could've sworn that Madarame looked different at the moment of the shout, yellow-eyed with white face paint.

You know the truth, don't you? The thought went through his mind, Or are you not willing to admit it unless Madarame confesses it himself? You're no fool, look at him.

He did, and the yellow eyes and white face paint were back. Not only that, but Madarame's entire appearance changed from his normal, humble attire to one of extreme gaudiness, with golden robes that reeked of corruption.

"I don't think you'll be able to rely on him to deny your crimes anymore." Akechi smiled.

"Sensei, has all of this really been-"

Have you finally come to your senses?

It had finally come to Yusuke's senses that this was not necessarily his own thoughts. There was the sense that this was coming from somewhere above.

At that moment of realization, a sharp pain ran right through him. Where? Everywhere? Mostly the head but that didn't make the rest of his body feel any better. He gripped his head but the pain (and now nausea) only built up and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor.

Out of the background noise that was the clamor that came from Madarame and Akechi, the voice resonated in his head again.

How foolishly you averted your eyes from the truth...A deplorable imitation indeed...Best you part from that aspect of yourself! He was on his knees? His hands were on the floor now too, clawing into the ground to the point that blood started to smear on the wood. The breaking of the skin helped clear Yusuke's head momentarily, and he turned his head up. Madarame seemed to be backing up to the opposite side of the room, while Akechi was cornering the old man down, saying something and glancing down at Yusuke with a smirk. Yusuke wanted to shoot that cocky expression down, but another wave of pain tore that thought down and he screamed, shutting his eyes.

Let us now forge a contract. Contract? He wanted to shout, demand an explanation of what in the world was going on but he was afraid that the next time he opened his mouth, it wouldn't be a wordless scream, but vomit.

I am thou, thou art I... Yusuke tried to breathe, but he felt like the vomit might come out at any moment now and a fuzzy feeling started to manifest from the jawbone up.

The world is filled with both beauty and vice… Blotches of dark blue were invading his sight, slowly taking over the visage of Madarame pulling something out. Gold? A Phone? The blotches were darkening to a black now and he could barely feel his last breath as he felt consciousness slip away.

It is time you teach people which is which!


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that Yusuke is aware of is the sound of slurping, of an ill-mannered child attempting to eat a soup dumpling for the first time.

That connection then leads him to become aware that there is indeed, something in his mouth. It tasted old, fermented, yet somehow wholesome and rejuvenating, like the aftereffect of those awful traditional medicines. Without conscious thought, he found himself continuing to enjoy whatever it was that he was eating, his eyes closed to savor the sensation.

"You're enjoying this quite well for someone who had been so conflicted a couple of moments ago."

Yusuke's head turned towards the source of the sound and his eyes opened to see Akechi, who appeared calm as usual.

"Tell me, is it satisfying to consume the desires that had oppressed you for so long?"

What in the world was the detective talking about? Yusuke looked down in order to stand up, but what lay below him was a fainted body, Madarame's fainted body. He was bleeding from his mouth and there were clusters of ice on his hair and clothes. Drops of what looked like black ink stained his robes right above where his heart is. Yusuke rubbed the corners of his mouth with his sleeve and saw the same black liquid, which looked a little too thick to be considered ink.

Yusuke pressed his hands on Madarame's face and he leaned in to hear faint breathing.

"He's still alive… Thank goodness." He stood up and looked down at his hands, "But what happened? What have I done? What is this ice and this… ink-like liquid?"

"Ah, I forgot that most people tend to black out on their first time." The degree of calmness from Akechi was unnerving at best, "Don't worry about Madarame, I called in a doctor I know well, none of this will spill out into the public."

"You seem awfully familiar with this," Yusuke leaned on to the closest wall with his shoulder, "What kind of detective work have you been doing? Have you come here to frame me?"

"Like I said, none of this will spill out into the public. I'm trying to get justice on Madarame, not victimize the innocent." Akechi sighed, "Guess I'll just have to explain some things from the top again."

"You likely won't believe a thing I say, but I'll try to explain anyway. What you have been consuming just now was a physical manifestation of Madarame's desires. The desire for fame and money which ruined his art and the lives of his pupils."

"Desires?" This sounded like a premise for a cheesy fantasy story or video game, "What kind of ridiculous nonsense are you making up?"

"Ridiculous, yes. But it's not nonsense," Akechi pulled at his gloves, "You could feel it, couldn't you? Something deep in that black ball of ooze that stirs something deep within you. Desire attracts more desire, so it's no wonder that we feel so compelled by its raw form."

"We?" Yusuke breathed. It was a struggle to remain standing, even when leaning on the wall like this. Somehow all of his energy had disappeared after he became lucid.

"We." Akechi nodded. He feigned holding an orb with his right hand and a ball of light began for form, perfectly fitted to his palm, "I'm able to control the light, while those ice crystals there were made by you," the ball constantly changed its hues until it settled for something clear and ice-like, clearly imitating the ice that had damaged Madarame, "Tell me, do you remember hearing someone before your… lapse in memory?"

"Naturally, you and Madarame were around…" Yusuke hesitated to think back and a vague recollection came to mind, "And… some other voice. At first, I mistook it for my own thoughts, but they were so overpowering that it certainly couldn't have been, unless I'd gone mad that very instant."

The imitation ice ball faded away, "Hm, I believe you shouted "Goemon" at some point. Which is quite a coincidence because Robin Hood had called on me when I experienced all of this for the first time."

Akechi took Yusuke's look of even greater confusion as a cue to continue, "I'm not sure what to call this but… at times of great need and injustice, sometimes a spirit of the past will arrive, offering a contract. Special powers will be granted to those chosen so long as they vow to consume the distorted desires that have made this world twisted," Akechi smiled at the artist, "I believe these two noble thieves chose us for our strong values. I can sense it from you even though we've barely even met."

Yusuke felt himself sink to the floor and gave in, sitting down with his head limply hanging down, "I… still have no idea… what you are trying to say."

He heard a sigh from the other, "I suppose there's no point trying to explain everything when you're this exhausted. Just rest for now, I'll make sure the doctor takes a look at you too and I'll make sure there's no confusion in due time."

* * *

Indeed, it did appear as though the doctor was a trustworthy enough of a confidant for Akechi to bring in these bizarre conditions. The middle-aged man asked no questions besides what was medically necessary, only making a short remark about "how the boy must still be confused." There was no other conversation otherwise and the doctor did a good job of making himself quick to arrive, quick to leave.

There wasn't much else that Yusuke could remember, besides Akechi moving Madarame's unconscious body to his bed, and Yusuke shuffling to his own bed not long afterward. Akechi made one last brief appearance in Yusuke's bedroom.

"I have business to attend to, but I'll check in again in a day or so. Let me know if anything peculiar happens to Madarame, though I'm sure you'll be fine." He slipped something on Yusuke's desk before promptly leaving.

He should have asked the detective about what exactly he meant by "peculiar."

Madarame awoke the next day, or at least his physical body did. All he did was stare up at the ceiling, not bothering to sit up on the bed, let alone attend to the exhibition or even eat or drink. The uncanny stillness, broken only by blinks and slow breaths, made Yusuke wonder if he'd stepped into some parallel dimension by accident, where everything else appears to be normal, yet the air of uncanniness can't be wiped away.

Yusuke tried to keep some semblance of his normal life by trying to paint in the morning, but found himself at a complete blank. He couldn't be more grateful that today was a Sunday, and that he didn't have to deal with the choice between attempting to act normal in school or skipping classes entirely. Not that he would be back to normal by Monday. In fact, he highly doubted "normal" would ever come back.

Around dinnertime, the young artist entered Madarame's room with a small meal of brown rice, bean sprouts, and a little tuna. He even made sure to bring the old man's favorite green tea, hoping something small as this might bring a little life back into his mentor.

"Sensei… You've been laying down all day without anything to eat. Please sit up and at least have dinner."

A protest or a complete non-response would have been preferred to the mechanical motions that Madarame made to sit up, as if he was just a robot who was lying down in idle mode, waiting or a command. Yusuke felt like he had fallen into the strangeness of one of Murakami's works, except unlike written works, he had no idea what was going to happen next. Everything that had felt so mundane in this small atelier had so suddenly changed into a strange and unpredictable place.

Yusuke had to end up essentially spoon feeding his mentor, who still did not speak or show any indication of having a personality. It was in this silence that the young artist started to question what exactly had happened yesterday. The room of Sayuri replicas along with the original work that was supposed to have been stolen long ago, the brief moments where his mentor looked more like a gold-grabbing demon than a human being. That was only the starting point. What really started to throw things off was the sudden lapse in memory, the voice that had intruded his thoughts right before then, the black ooze he ate like some kind of animal, and he didn't even know where to begin with Akechi. The detective had been so insisted on finding evidence damning Madarame, yet seemed to be interested in him too. There was no doubt in his mind that Akechi had wanted to drag Yusuke into this mess (whatever it was) and defeat Madarame.

He could feel anger boiling in him, which only intensified the longer he continued to feed this old doll that was in front of him. But was Madarame just some arbitrarily chosen target in order to get to Yusuke? That made no sense. Then… was there justification for this? He felt his heart knot up at the mere question.

The food was all gone, passively consumed by the shell of the old man and Yusuke could not be more grateful, because now he could go wash the dishes and though all these thoughts will continue to haunt him, at least he won't have to see Madarame and only have his emotions twisted further with anger, confusion, and doubt.

While the sink water poured and Yusuke attempted to do the dishes somewhat mindfully, he felt tempted to call Akechi, to demand an explanation as to why Madarame had suddenly become a shell, as to what in the world was happening to himself, as to why Akechi came to the exhibition in the first place. He turned the water stronger and stared at it gush down as if it was escaping from something. With the dishes all cleaned, only his hands were being pelted with the water, and although the black smear from when he wiped his mouth was washed off back when the doctor arrived, the sensation of a dirty residue couldn't be washed away.

Fully aware that he wasn't going to get anything done, Yusuke decided that it'd be best to just wash up and rest some more tonight. A layer of fatigue still seemed to hover above him that dulled his senses. Even if he somehow was able to make something during the remainder of the day, he'd probably scrap it the next day. What a waste.

Yusuke open the bathroom door and flicked on the switch to see what was definitely not himself in the reflection. Sure, the reflection held the same face and body, and was standing the same way he was at the moment, but with haunting yellow eyes and small strokes of red paint on its face, like on a traditional fox mask.

We meet again . It talked almost like a natural thought in Yusuke's head, exactly like that voice earlier had done, I understand that you forgot some things so I will reintroduce myself. I am Goemon, one who returned to the people what was deprived from them.

"And what are you doing with my reflection?" Yusuke demanded.

We've made a contract. I bestow upon you the art of ice and shapeshifting so long as you vow to bring justice to this world, The yellow eyes stared, unblinking, The system and its layers of traps are rooted in the corrupted desires of the powerful, always greedy for more. And so we shall destroy, we shall consume every last strain of those twisted motivations. You've done well so far, releasing yourself from the man who has been chaining you down all this time.

"Destroying another man's psyche to make him a complete shell of what he was is definitely not the same as "releasing myself" from his influence!"

Your old "mentor" may act soulless right now, but that's just what happens immediately after such a drastic change. Life will come back to him soon enough, but his soul will be cleansed by then, willing to accept the consequences for his wretched actions.

"Goemon" turned his head to the side, the action that fully separated him from being just some distorted reflection, Either way, our fates are now bound and there is little that can be done about it. But you'll see in due time that this is the proper way to go about reforming that con artist. Rest for now, fatigue isn't good for the soul. The spirit walked away, disappearing to whatever was past the right edge of the mirror.

Yusuke looked back at the mirror, where his reflection was. Or rather, it would be more appropriate to say where his reflection was supposed to be. There was only the reflection of the towels that hung on the opposite wall, along with the open door, with a view of his bedroom unobstructed by his physical body. Part of him wondered if his habit of snacking on random mushrooms had suddenly broke him. Looking down at his hands and feeling them was a welcome reminder of his tangibility.

What sort of situation had he been lured into?

* * *

Yusuke had always been a sensitive sleeper, so with all that was going on in his mind, it was a surprise that he was able to get any sleep at all. What wasn't a surprise was that a series of loud knocks woke him, despite how his eyes still felt tired and his joints felt like they were creaking like the stairs. He begrudgingly rolled out of bed and looked out the window to see a mop of brown hair.

Akechi. Who else would it be?

Perhaps he could just pretend to fall back asleep and not answer the door. Then again, would it be illegal to ignore a detective? It might not be the best course of action, there's already so much interrupting his life. Yusuke indulged himself by taking his time as he slowly descended the stairs and opened the door.

"Ah, it's good to see you're awake and well," Akechi smiled. Yusuke didn't reciprocate, "I was starting to worry that you might have passed out for two days. How's Madarame faring?"

"How's Madarame faring?" Yusuke scoffed, "If you had never come here in the first place, there wouldn't be a need to ask such a question."

"Then you can see it as my responsibility to make sure things will go okay from here." The smile refused to fade away and Akechi just stepped forward, phasing right through Yusuke's body.

Shaken, the artist immediately took a few paces back and clutched his chest, as if to make sure that everything that was supposed to be inside him were still in the right places. He looked up and saw Akechi back standing where he was, however, now stepping into the house like a normal person.

"Quite a realistic illusion, isn't it?" The detective sounded overly proud of himself, "It's a custom technique of mine. Now, we should go check on Madarame's condition. Things can become quite troublesome if you leave the freshly reformed alone too long."

Yusuke grimaced at how it sounded like the other was talking more about a slab of meat than an actual human being, "I don't need your assistance here."

"Oh?" Akechi turned his head with a small tilt, "You've never experienced this before though, have you? Trust me, I've dealt with a wide variety of cases in my line of work. I've already had a doctor deal with you both while keeping anonymity. I hope my credentials are enough to persuade you."

Well, he wasn't wrong. That doesn't stop the entire situation feeling wrong, however, "... If you make a single wrong move, I'll make sure that you'll never enter this place again."

"Fair enough."

Yusuke kept himself uncomfortably close to Akechi as they both escalated the stairs and walked into Madarame's room, where the old man was once again staring into the ceiling thoughtlessly. Yusuke didn't know what he had hoped for, a complete rewind back to the norm, with all of its goods and bads, or some kind of "purified" Madarame who was no longer so concerned about the politics of the art world.

"It seems we meet again," Akechi made sure to stand right next to the bed, and Yusuke made sure to inch closer in case anything occurred, though it'll be difficult to tell since it seemed that the detective can create illusions and who knows what else he might be able to do, "Kitagawa has told me that you have been thinking about something for a while now. Care to share it with us?"

"...Thinking?" the voice was soft but hoarse, dry from lack of conversation and life.

"Yes. You must've been thinking about something this entire time, considering what happened to you recently. Does anything come to mind when you think about your past pupils, or the Sayuri?"

"Sa... yuri," Madarame stared off for a whole minute before he blinked and his eyes looked a little less dead, "I had been hiding my illegal deals with the copies of Sayuri for a while now."

Yusuke's eyes widened. Despite having seen all of the fakes in that room and the confrontation with Madarame and Akechi, there was something about how the old man had confessed (or rather explained) it so simply and honestly that struck something within him. It was the sense of realization, something he had half-approached again and again until now.

Madarame's head tilted slowly and the man looked straight into Yusuke's eyes, not completely blank but not painted with any particular emotion either, "I was supposed to have been a father to you, but locking you out of your room, not feeding you until your painting was finished, forcing you to throw up when you did manage to sneak in food… that's not what a caregiver, a father is supposed to do. I remember what I was thinking when I abused you and the others like this, but it doesn't make any sense anymore, why I would want to be a big name so much to do this, why I cared about the art world at all."

Yusuke wanted to reply, to say something, but he could barely remember to breathe, let alone speak. All those times he'd gone hungry or without a bed because of his lack of output, he kept thinking to himself this is exactly what happens if you're not doing well enough. It makes sense that I have to get punished because I'll just start slacking otherwise . To suddenly be told this was out of line, after more than a decade of being told otherwise… how was he supposed to react?

"There's no reason to… have done any of that. It makes no sense to want so much money. What's the point of having power in the art world if it requires constant deception? Pointless." Madarame returned to staring back up at the sky, eyes affixed to nothing in particular.

"I see." Yusuke had forgotten for a moment that Akechi was still here, interrupting the moment with his voice, "It is good that you have confessed to us, but Kitagawa wasn't your only pupil. There were many others that you have also treated terribly, aren't there? Not to mention the patrons you sold fake paintings to. How will they know that you have come to your senses?"

"... There are so many, aren't there."

"Yes, and quite spread apart too. I've heard that many of the ex-pupils don't even have stable housing."

"What are you trying to get him to do?" Yusuke whispered to the detective.

"The right thing." Akechi stated simply.

"I suppose… a public announcement would be the best way to reach everyone." said Madarame.

"If you need any accommodations for that, I'm sure I will be able to help-"

"No. Might as well use the influence I have for something besides accruing more money." Slowly, Madarame got up from the bed. Akechi stepped away to the side and Yusuke grabbed onto the old man's arm to help him down. Madarame hasn't started to suffer from weakness yet in his age, but with how much he had suddenly changed, Yusuke was afraid that the elder might just collapse.

"Don't touch me," Madarame brushed Yusuke off, "Who knows if I'll suddenly want to take your art for my own benefit again. It'll be best if we never talk again. I'm… sorry." He walked off on his own out of the room, supposedly to leave.

Yusuke's hand reached out, "Sensei, think about this for a second-"

"I don't think that's going to happen," said Akechi, "He doesn't have any desire to keep amassing fame, nor does he have the desire to keep everything under the sheets to prevent losing face. Take all that away and what's left? The morals that have been instilled in every person from childhood. They aren't based on desire, but what's right and wrong."

"So all of this really was…" Yusuke's hand fell along with his spirit. A feeling of something like disgust started to boil, both at Madarame's immorality and his own unwillingness to look at such vice in the eye, "... How deplorable of me."

"...Deplorable? I wouldn't say that," Akechi glanced at his watch, "You'll have to wait a bit again, but in the meantime why don't we stop by a cafe? There's a quiet one down in Yongen-jaya that is quite comfortable," He smiled at Yusuke's face of doubt, "Considering the amount of distress all of this has caused, it's really the least I can do."

Yusuke wanted to object, but at the same time… There's no way he'd reject a food opportunity, even if it's just coffee.

* * *

Thank god it wasn't just coffee. Akechi had gotten hungry by the time they reached the small cafe known as Leblanc, and so decided to order some curry. Yusuke hesitated at first, empty stomach but dwindling wallet in mind.

Akechi waved his hand, "Don't worry about that, I'll treat you. I'm a year above you, after all."

"Oh, is that so?" Well, he certainly couldn't imagine Akechi was younger than him, so it made sense. A free meal would be rather pleasant. It would help make up for the fact that this detective had literally changed his life in less than a week.

The smell of the freshly cooked curry made Yusuke think that this definitely made up for what just happened.

Wait no, no, no. Don't let the curry win over you. Just one bite tempted him, though.

"I never knew curry could have such complex flavors. The sauce is rich but not too heavy, it's quite exquisite!"

"Is that how you always talk…" Akechi muttured.

"Pardon me?"

"Hm? I was just wondering if it always tastes like this. I've never had anything besides coffee from here until now." Akechi smiled.

"You can try it again later to find out." came a voice from behind the bar. Yusuke turned his head to see the balding man that was in charge of the cafe. He didn't appear to be the most friendly type, but seemed hospitable enough in his business. There seemed to be one other person that happened to be washing dishes in the back, but the most that Yusuke could see was a mop of black hair, carelessly tousled yet not too messy.

"I'll make sure to consider that if I want to do some work over a meal. It's rare to see a venue that has mastered both coffee and food." The flattery didn't get to the owner, who went to prepare the order for the old couple on the adjacent table.

"This is a pretty quiet place, considering how many people spend their afternoons and evenings in cafes nowadays. It's the only place I've been able to relax in recently, so I thought it'd be a nice place to casually discuss our… matters."

Honestly, Yusuke barely noticed what the upperclassman was talking about through the curry. He wasn't eating it at a rudely fast pace, not really. It was just that there wasn't a pause between finishing one bite and starting the other until it became silent on Akechi's side and it was clear that Yusuke should contribute to the conversation.

Yusuke cleared his throat and thought about what he felt comfortable telling the detective before talking in a low voice, "What I understand is that we must… consume rotten desires to stop a person from continually acting upon them. And apparently, we are given "gifts" to help with that."

"Precisely." Akechi hummed, glad to know the artist wasn't too dumb, "Though I hope you have enough incentive to go after criminals already, it seems that consuming more desires only strengthens you, and not feeding for an extended period of time is actually weakening. It can get a bit… unpleasant if you wait too long."

"Sort of like real food…" This might be slightly concerning. Yusuke might have to write down reminders to make sure he doesn't forget. Unlike with regular food, he can't easily sit down and eat if he's ever near the verge of collapse. Hospitals don't hold banks of corrupted desires for emergencies.

"Exactly, and it's not nearly as easy as getting a plate of curry here, which comes to something I want to ask of you," Akechi took a sip of coffee and kept his hands around the warm mug, "I think it would be in our best interests if we teamed up, at least for the time being."

"What do you mean?" Yusuke had a good idea what the other meant, but he's going to need as much detail as possible before making any such arrangement.

"You've just been thrown into this mess, it'll be hard for you to get yourself grounded without any guidance, and I have much experience in both pursuing and defeating criminal targets," Akechi said in what was barely above a whisper, "Meanwhile even know I have the know-how, I'm only one person. Things are easy with singular targets, but I can't just dive into a yakuza base by myself."

Akechi did have a point. Yusuke honestly would have no idea where to start, except maybe a few other artists that were close to Madarame, but even then he would be extremely limited. He wasn't sure how often he would need to keep… eating off of other people, but he's sure it wouldn't last him long, and Yusuke had no desire to die just yet.

"I see. Then I guess we have ourselves an alliance."

"Splendid," Akechi smiled, "I'll make sure to stop by tomorrow evening. I already have a target in mind that'll require extra manpower." He bowed his head slightly, to which Yusuke reciprocated. It seemed they really have settled some sort of official business deal here, discussed over dinner with the muted sound of pouring rain in the distance.

When did it start raining? It was certainly dry when the two came in, and the sky was nearly clear the entire day. Regardless, the ambience felt grounding, as if it was sent from the clouds to verify that everything here is real. Somehow, it almost felt welcoming.


End file.
